Corps admits miscues in flood

But agency's report says it averted more damage

Jul. 22, 2010

Workers with the Army Corps of Engineers inspect the area around Old Hickory Dam on Sunday, May 2. A Corp report released Wednesday said that the Corps operated successfully and that its actions reduced the flood crest on the Cumberland River in Nashville by 5 feet.
/ LARRY McCORMACK / FILE / THE TENNESSEAN

But the Corps' after-action review also states that the Corps operated successfully and that its actions reduced the flood crest on the Cumberland River in Nashville by 5 feet.

The Corps' report will be the centerpiece of a Senate hearing today to look at what happened and discuss lessons that can be used to lessen future disasters

U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper of Nashville, who has questioned the Corps' reactions during the crisis, found the report at least somewhat forthcoming, but flawed.

"The Corps admits to 27 types of mistakes in managing the 2010 flood in this, their preliminary report on the disaster," he said in a statement released Wednesday evening. "Some were failures to communicate, others were failures to manage. The report is more detailed than I expected, but the Corps makes some additional mistakes in the report itself." He listed a reference to MetroCenter flooding, when it didn't.

At least 14 people died in Middle Tennessee when the Cumberland and Harpeth rivers and many of their tributaries grew into raging torrents May 1-3 as unprecedented rain fell over the area — more than 17 inches in some areas. Damage reached into the billions of dollars as homes and businesses flooded.

According to the report, the flood was "an unprecedented event that greatly exceeded all forecasts."

"Flood damages from this event could not have been prevented," the report reads.

Some have praised the Corps for their actions when they opened gates at Old Hickory Dam to avert potential loss of the structure, saying that they say saved lives. Others, including Gaylord Opryland, have taken issue with the agency.

Mayor Karl Dean's administration and Gaylord Opryland said Wednesday that they had no comment on the 292-page report as yet.

Corps officials said Wednesday the report was only a "first step."

"This draft report is the first step in fulfilling the Corps' commitment to provide continuous improvement, transparency and accountability," said Maj. Gen. John W. Peabody, commander of the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division. "It examines lessons learned from this unprecedented event and contains measures to improve our systems to better prepare for future floods."

Residents not warned

Pat Dotson, who lost everything when her TSU-area home flooded, is among them. She believes the Corps needlessly caused waters to rise, no matter what the report may say.

"It wouldn't have flooded if they hadn't … opened the dam," she said. "They could at least have warned us and said to salvage a much as we could.

"Did they tell us that? No."

The hearing today will feature testimony by the National Weather Service, Mayor Dean and others, as well as the Corps.

The National Weather Service is the agency that forecasts flood levels, so part of the discussion is expected to be about communication between it and the Corps.

The Weather Service forecasts given in river stages makes it difficult for people to determine what the impact may be in their neighborhood, according to the report, adding that the Weather Service is looking at ways to add more information to its forecasts.

In one miscommunication, Weather Service officials misunderstood information provided by the Corps on the status of spillway gates at Old Hickory Dam. That contributed to inaccuracies in the early flood forecasts, the Corps report says.

Other problems cited in the report include:

n U.S. Geological Survey personnel were taking flow measurements during the flooding, but Corps and Weather Service officials did not tap into that information.

n The Internet connection in the Corps' district office was lost for several hours. Staff members are now obtaining air cards, laptops and satellite phones to provide backup.

n Corps staffers were not called in fast enough to handle the additional workload, and the district and division offices didn't begin 24-hour operations as early as they should have.

n Corps district officials learned only through news broadcasts of some changes to river crest forecasts. A computer program is being adjusted to make sure that information goes directly to the district.

The Corps says flooding cost it $50.3 million for emergency operations and in damage to its projects.